AG Systems
Anti-Gravity Systems (otherwise known as AG Systems International, also referred to as AG-S or AG-SYS) are an Anti-Gravity racing team based in Japan. The team was founded by the pioneer of AG racing, Pierre Belmondo. As a recurring team in the ''Wipeout'' series, AG Systems are also known to be one of the favorite teams in the series. History The Foundation for European Anti-Gravity Research was founded in the early 21st century and was a member of the World Anti-Gravity Research Congress. The Foundation became the leader in anti-gravity research when Pierre Belmondo emerged as its Director in 2024. But later that year, influenced by profit-driven governments, the Congress was shut down, and anti-gravity technology was then deemed "inefficient" and "never...cost-effective". Regardless, Belmondo pushed on with anti-gravity research in secret. He proved the whole world that anti-gravity transport is possible as he accomplished the first flight in an AG craft in 2035. To solve the problem of the shortage of funds and express concerns regarding the technology, AG Systems was established as the commercial arm of the Foundation in 2040, with Belmondo as director. The whole company was sold off to a Japanese consortium two years later, the exact time of the closure of the Foundation. Even though operations moved to Tokyo, Belmondo remained its director. It was the time when an anti-gravity racing league was finally established, followed by the establishment of the other three teams as a result of AG Systems' influence: *Auricom and Qirex: Established by former AG Systems employees Delia Flaubert and Holst McQueen, respectively. *FEISAR: Established earlier as Europe's main anti-gravity research organization replacing the Foundation, and later form an AG racing team to replace AG Systems. The F5000 League was the first time the team had done considerably well, as their craft was immaculate and it took little time for the pilots to gain experience and a little extra funding to put the team in a top position. However, with Piranha on the rise with their experimental craft, it became clear that AG Systems were not the only team looking at the latest technology and other teams were on the rise. The biggest weakness of AG Systems, however, was their preference to anti-gravity research over racing performance. This led to inconsistencies with the craft, and therefore poor performance. This problem reached its peak near the end of the F7200 League as AG Systems was put into a severe financial crisis, leading the company to declare bankruptcy. As a result, they sold their racing team to the G-Tech Systems corporation. G-Tech was as far from the ideals of AG Systems as anything could be, sacrificing agility and technological prowess for a bureaucratic approach to spending a huge amount of funds on a craft that was neither agile nor pretty to look at. As a result of such an approach, G-Tech suffered badly in the F9000 League, having always placed dead last with little to no progress each season. And this also resulted in the dissolution of G-Tech when its involvement in the corruption among the F9000 International Federation was revealed during the 2170 season. One year following, AG Systems was reinstated. From then, AG Systems concentrated on research and application of anti-gravity technology, providing Anti-Gravity generators to a range of application, spanning from commercial to defense. However, when interest in amateur AG racing rose in the 2180s, AG Systems turned into providing parts, and later whole ships to AG racing enthusiasts. This allowed AG Systems to study the racing climate before reforming their racing team with its introduction into the FX300 League in 2197. Indeed, the FX300 League was their best yet with gaining a lot of ground on Makana's technical tracks and becoming second overall in the 2206 season, before the original winner Triakis were disqualified for the use of illegal equipment on their ship. AG Systems were later awarded the title, and now looking quite confident to tackle the upcoming leagues. Apart from that, their strong performance in FX350 League events, coupled with confidence inspiring pre-season testing for the FX400 League, showed that their 2206 FX300 Championship title was no fluke. As such, AG Systems were obviously very excited to continue their resurgence in the 2207 season of the FX400 League. FX300 Background After selling its entire racing operation to the G-Tech trading empire in 2155, Tokyo-based AG Systems has rebuilt its team from the ground up in readiness for the new league. With its traditionally powerful engine systems and aerodynamic technology, the AG Systems craft of the FX300 era should be every bit as agile and responsive as its predecessors. However, the care taken by test pilots during shakedown runs would suggest that if it has a weakness, it's going to be its durability. FX400 Background AG Systems have finally turned the corner after spending the best part of a decade fighting for the scraps in the FX300 League. Their strong performance in FX350 class events, coupled with confidence inspiring pre-season testing for the FX400 League show that their 2206 FX300 Championship title was no fluke. As one of the longest running operations in the history of the sport, the Japanese team look poised to continue their resurgence when AG Racing goes global for the 2207 season of the FX400 League. FX400 Message Statement issued by AG Systems International, Tokyo, Japan Established in 2040, AG Systems of Tokyo, Japan are the original pioneers of Anti-Gravity technology. Since the days when our efforts were led by the great Pierre Belmondo, AG Systems has strived to forge new paths to the future that others later followed. Since the inception of the Anti-Gravity Racing League, AG Systems has raced in every form of the sport, achieving the championship title on 25 occasions – most recently in the thrilling 2206 season of the FX300 Racing League. For 2207 we hope to see our friends around the world as we travel the globe in pursuit of Championship titles in the new FX350 and FX400 Racing Leagues. Appearance, Evolution & Stats Generally, the team boasts great acceleration and maneuverability. These two stats are never lower than average in any game the team appeared in. Their craft are usually lightweight and great to use on technical circuits. However, since the AG Systems craft usually have low shielding in most games, they are also more vulnerable to elimination (from impact with walls or weaponry). AG Systems can be considered a very advantageous craft to use in most games, since their strengths on thrust and handling are usually among the more important ones throughout the series, whether it's for taking sharp corners quickly with minimal loss of speed or recovering from weapon impacts. Coincidentally, in Wipeout 3, where top speed matters the most, their craft get its highest speed rating in the series to date. The AG Systems craft began as a single hulled craft much like the others, but in Wipeout 2097 the craft began to diverge a little and become more akin to the first generation of craft that is known. The hull had two canard-like extensions on the front while the rear wings point down from the body, tapering in on both sides. The craft had a light build with the cockpit at the rear and reassembled a single hull design with the center of the fuselage recessed. The design was continued for Wipeout 3, however the fuselage became all flush as a single hull, and the cockpit was put at the far rear. With their return in Pure, the ship began a new direction with a wide single hull at the front and a wide, shallow pair of wings at the rear which are joined by a thin bridge structure. The cockpit is situated at the rear side of the front section, bringing it forwards on the whole ship by a third. The ship is no longer as fast as its predecessors, and still weak as well, but it has impressive thrust and handling. In fact, it has the best thrust among the starting line-up teams, and only Goteki 45 can match it that time. This design has been kept from Pure to HD, however the Fury ship design is a lot more solid and streamlined, with what seems to be layers of armour on top of a thinner chassis connected to the rear wings by a more solid bridge structure. In both Pulse and HD, AG Systems is a popular ship for use. This is because apart from the thrust and handling characteristics typical of the team ships, it is now more durable than before. Despite these advantages, the ship is still not that fast, due to its low top speed. However, the AG Systems Fury ship has better top speed. This will give the ship more power to go faster. In addition, the ship is seemingly more reliable thanks to the minor improvement on thrust. Gallery Agsystems2048.jpg|AG Systems logo from Wipeout 2048 Agsystems2048_B.png|Alternate AG Systems logo from Wipeout 2048 AGS_WO1.png|AG Systems logo from Wipeout AGS_WO2097.png|AG Systems logo from Wipeout 2097 AGS_WO3.png|AG Systems logo from Wipeout 3 332812-ag_systems.gif|AG Systems wallpaper from Wipeout 3 AGS_pure.png|AG Systems logo from Wipeout Pure AGS_pulse.png|AG Systems logo from Wipeout Pulse AGS_header.png|Alternate AG Systems logo from Wipeout Pulse AGS_1024x768.jpg|AG Systems wallpaper from Wipeout Pulse Trivia *In Wipeout 3, the year of establishment for AG Systems was listed as 2017, but this has now been retconned to 2040. *Their craft in Wipeout 2097 seemed to blur the line between single and dual hull ships for the first time. *One of AG Systems' mottos in the FX400 League, "A Friend in Speed", is a pun on the phrase, "A Friend in Need". *Despite some belief, AG Systems was NOT bought and absorbed into G-Tech. The best evidence of this is the specifications of the G-Tech REVVER, which states that the ship's stablilzers are products of AG Systems, albeit their UK branch. Category:Teams